Sphere 01 · Musicianship
Get better at playing music.
Your instrument, your ears, your sense of time and the habit of practice. Every other sphere builds on these, so this is where I would start.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only list things I would hand a friend.
01Start here
If you only open four tabs, open these. Two courses, one free theory site and a proper piano course for the price of a pizza.
Reviewed- Course
Pickup Music
Structured pathways for guitar and piano. I did six months of guitar and I'm now working through piano from lesson one.
- Course
- Website
JustinGuitar
A free, well-structured guitar course that takes you from your first chord to playing songs. The one most teachers point beginners to.
- Course
Pianoforall
Cheap, old-school and still one of the better ways to learn piano. Built on chords and rhythm styles, so you play real songs early.
- Website
musictheory.net
Free interactive lessons and drills for notes, intervals, chords and ear training. Bookmark it and do five minutes a day.
02Instruments
Apps and courses for guitar, piano and drums. Pick one and give it a month before you judge it.
- Software
Flowkey
Learn piano by playing songs you actually like. The app listens and waits for you to hit the right notes before it moves on.
- Software
Simply Piano
An app that listens while you play and walks you through a structured course. Great for the first few months.
- Course
- YouTube
Pianote
Online piano lessons with a friendly teaching style, plus a big free YouTube channel to try before you pay.
- Course
Drumeo
The biggest online library of drum lessons, with courses from well-known players and plenty of free content to start.
- YouTube
Marty Music
Free guitar song lessons, broken down slowly. Good for when you want to learn a specific song tonight.
03Theory
Enough theory to understand what you are playing, from free videos to a full textbook.
- YouTube
12Tone
Notebook-doodle videos that explain why songs work. Easy to watch and surprisingly deep.
Why I like it
This channel creates fairly short, interesting videos that cover general music theory concepts from beginner to advanced levels. I would recommend checking out the "Building Blocks" series as a beginner.
- YouTube
Adam Neely
Deep-dive videos on rhythm, harmony and the strange corners of music theory, from a working bassist.
- YouTube
Hack Music Theory
Theory for producers and songwriters, taught with modern music instead of classical examples.
Why I like it
Don’t let the name “hack” dissuade you from checking them out. They provide a short 5-minute introduction to music theory topics that you can replicate in your own DAW quickly. They use MIDI instead of notation, so there is less of a barrier of understanding if you don’t have great notation understanding.
- Website
Open Music Theory
A free, open textbook that covers fundamentals all the way to advanced harmony and form.
- Book
The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis
A proper college textbook. Heavy, but it is the one to own if you want the full picture.
More books: The 5 best music theory books
04Ear Training & Rhythm
Train your ears to hear intervals and chords, and your hands to play in time.
- Software
ToneGym
Ear training games and short daily workouts for intervals, chords and pitch.
- Software
Functional Ear Trainer
A free app that teaches you to hear what each note does inside a key. Simple, and it works.
- Website
Teoria
Free browser exercises for intervals, chords and scales, plus note-reading drills.
- Software
EarMaster
Full ear training and sight-singing software, including rhythm exercises you tap along to.
- Software
Melodics
Rhythm practice for drum pads, keys and MIDI controllers, with lessons that grade your timing.
05Practice & Mindset
How to practice well and keep showing up. These apply to every other sphere too.
- Book
The War of Art
A short, blunt book about the resistance that stops you from sitting down to practice.
Why I like it
Do you find yourself living and imagining 2 different lives? This book goes into detail explaining all the mental barriers that our mind creates to stop us from achieving our goals whether it is fear or procrastination. If you understand the barriers, it will help you overcome them.
- Book
The Creative Habit
Twyla Tharp on building routines so the creative work shows up every day, not just when you feel like it.
Why I like it
Creativity is a habit that is a combination of preparation and effort. She explains how to overcome fear, get out of your creative comfort zone, and how to create a habit. She has a very opinionated tone.
- Book
Flow
The psychology of deep focus. It explains why your best practice sessions feel the way they do.
- Website
The Bulletproof Musician
Noa Kageyama's articles and courses on practice science and handling nerves when you perform.
Know a resource I missed?
Send it over. If it helps me, it goes on this page.